William and Peter Margach were two well-remembered men of Bartley Township. They were born in Morayshire, Scotland. Will came to North Dakota in 1882 and we believe Peter Margach homesteaded in Bartley before that.

William did carpenter work in Fargo and Casselton before going to Emmons County where he homesteaded. He built a "shanty" and broke up about 20 acres. The first year he hauled his wheat to Bismarck, forty miles away and later to Steele, hauling coal back to the farm. Wheat sold for 550 a bushel in 1891. While in Emmons County he was elected County Commissioner. He then moved to Bartley Township trading the quarter he had bought for $5 an acre in Emmons County for one in Bartley. He was Township clerk of Bartley Township from 1898 to 1931.

He was married to Christine Berge in 1907 by Judge Carlton in Cooperstown. Mrs. Margach passed away in 1910. Mr. Margach spent his last years with the W. D. Sinclair family in Hannaford. On his 90th birthday, November 11, 1949, the whole area gathered in the Presbyterian Church to pay homage to this grand old man.

Peter Margach had passed away much earlier. He always said, "What's mine is Will's, and what is Will's is mine".

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 page 226